Man found dead in Marseille – Possible drug-related killing

Man found dead in Marseille – Possible drug-related killing - A man with a gunshot wound to the head was found dead in the boot of a burning car in Marseille on Wednesday night, in an area plagued by drug trafficking. Authorities suspect it was a gang-related execution. Emergency services were called just before 11 p.m. by residents reporting an attempted car fire near the Font Vert housing estate in the city's impoverished northern districts. Firefighters discovered the man in cardiac arrest in the car’s trunk. Despite efforts to revive him, he was pronounced dead at the scene.

The man had been shot in the head. The perpetrators fled after trying to set the vehicle alight. Police have opened a homicide investigation, with the case handed to the organized crime division. While the link to drug-related gang violence has not been officially confirmed, the circumstances strongly suggest a “narco-homicide”, a term used in France to describe murders tied to drug turf wars. If confirmed, this would be the 8th narco-homicide in the Bouches-du-Rhône region in 2025, following 24 such killings in 2024 and a record 49 in 2023.